Summary of outcome measures for the isotonic saline and hypertonic saline treatment periods
| Isotonic saline | Hypertonic saline | Treatment effect* | p Value† | |||
| Pre | Post | Pre | Post | |||
| LCI | 8.71±2.10 | 8.89±2.10 | 8.84±1.95 | 7.86±1.71 | 1.16±0.94 (0.27 to 2.05) | 0.016 |
| FVC % Predicted | 98.5±11.6 | 99.8±13.3 | 101.2±11.0 | 99.3±11.8 | 2.4±9.8 (−2.7 to 7.4) | 0.37 |
| FVC (litres) | 2.2±0.8 | 2.3±0.7 | 2.3±0.8 | 2.3±0.8 | 0.02±0.2 (−0.07 to 0.1) | 0.57 |
| FEV1% predicted | 96.0±12.0 | 96.3±13.9 | 96.3±12.7 | 97.0±14.3 | −1.8±12.0 (−7.9 to 4.4) | 0.55 |
| FEV1 (litres) | 1.8±0.6 | 1.8±0.5 | 1.8±0.6 | 1.9±0.6 | −0.06±0.2 (−0.2 to 0.05) | 0.25 |
| FEF25–75 % predicted | 84.9±24.1 | 86.8±25.0 | 82.9±21.7 | 85.4±26.3 | −5.3±22.3 (−16.7 to 6.2) | 0.53 |
| FEF25–75 (litres) | 2.0 ± 0.7 | 1.9 ± 0.7 | 1.9 ± 0.7 | 2.0 ± 0.8 | −0.1±0.6 (−0.37 to 0.08) | 0.19 |
| CFQ-R respiratory domain | 77.8 ± 13.9 | 80.0 ± 18.7 | 76.9 ± 13.0 | 84.0 ± 16.0 | −5.2±14.2 (−17.4 to 7.1) | 0.33 |
| CFQ-R parent respiratory domain | 84.1±13.0 | 81.9±12.3 | 78.1±14.5 | 82.6±12.9 | −5.9±16.2 (−14.9 to 3.0) | 0.15 |
Values are expressed as means± SD and 95% CI.
% predicted spirometry values were calculated using the equations of Stanojevic et al.23
↵* Absolute difference for isotonic saline vs hypertonic saline.
↵† p Value for comparison of postisotonic saline with posthypertonic saline.
CFQ-R, Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; FEF25–75, forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of the forced vital capacity; LCI, lung clearance index.